This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
With only 12 days left to enter the #LoveAtFirstWrite talent scout, a month-long event hosted by women’s fiction imprint Corvus and book discovery website Lovereading.co.uk, Maddie West, Corvus editorial director, is here with a few tips for entering writing competitions.
1. Know the rules. If the competition is looking for a dystopian sci-fi novel, don’t enter your sweet romance. If the submission should be the first chapter and a synopsis, don’t send the whole script.
Editor’s confession: I will take against your work if you haven’t read the submission rules correctly. I will try not to, because that’s the way you miss a great book and end up kicking yourself…but I will feel oddly aggrieved that you haven’t bothered to read the small print.
2. It’s tempting to get really caught up in your world when writing your synopsis – don’t. Make it attention-grabbing, short, sharp and snappy. The editor probably doesn’t need to know what colour top your heroine will be wearing in Chapter Five.
Editor’s confession: I often don’t read the synopsis until I’ve read the first chapter. As an editor, I want to know what your voice sounds like – after you’ve hooked me with story and character, then I’ll look to find out where it’s going!
3. Write the whole book or as much as possible. Sounds simple, no? Well, I have one very good friend who entered a competition, won it and then was faced with the terrifying challenge of producing a full-length novel in a couple of months.
Editor’s confession: When running a competition, I have an abiding nightmare that the judges pick a winner who hasn’t finished at least the first draft of their book. Writing a full-length novel is a bit like running a marathon – the chances of making it past the finish line if you haven’t trained are pretty slim.
4. Don’t concentrate on the overly polished, entered-for-every-competition first chapter. The book needs to work as a whole, not just have the most attention grabbing opening scene.
Editor’s confession: I’ve read some brilliant, stark, startling openings in my time and excitedly asked the author for their full manuscript, only to discover that all the energy and effort has gone into that one scene. Yes, it needs to intrigue your reader, and set up the conflict to come, but don’t only polish your first chapter.
5. Proof-read. Boring but true. If you’re not sure of grammar, or have just read your entry too many times, ask a nit-picky friend for their help. It will pay off. Editor’s confession: Again, getting hung up on a writer’s misuse of their/there/they’re is one of the best ways to miss a good story – but at the same time, if you’re not sure of your basic tools, are you ready to write a whole novel? In the end, your best bet for winning a writing competition is to write the best book you possibly can … but don’t forget to read the rules of the competition and tidy up all your stray apostrophes!
Do you have tips to add? Have you spotted any great writing competitions lately?